Kidz Bop
Kidz Bop is the name of a series of popular music albums recorded for children, sold by Razor & Tie Direct, L.L.C. and frequently marketed through television commercials.
Kidz Bop toured the United States at popular music venues in Fall 2007. Members of the touring show included Mary Sarah Gross, Davide Schiavone, Markelle Gay, Elizabeth Bashian, Kristian Real and Breyanna Komadina. The Kidz Bop World Tour kicked off in October 2007. Corporate sponsors included Dodge Grand Caravan and Juicy Juice. The tour itself was a joint venture between VEE corporation and Kidz Bop, LLC. The show itself is billed as the "only rock show by kids, for kids". Adult leads in the show are Jeff Leatherwood and Jodi Katz. A full rock band consisting of Oscar Baustista (lead guitar), Richard Maheaux (keyboards), Ryan Marks (bass) and drummer Winston Roye play for the show.
Advertising
Kidz Bop is often advertised on television channels popular with young audiences, such as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon. The commercials typically show regular kids singing and dancing to songs featured on the album. Although the albums are initially sold through direct mail-order prior to their retail availability, they are predominantly sold in traditional stores as well.
The album cover follows the footsteps of the art for the original album in the Now That's What I Call Music series in the American market.
Audiences
Kidz Bop is intended for children; popular songs are recorded in cover versions with kids singing them, and lyrics considered inappropriate for younger audiences are changed.[1]
Production
The children on these albums usually do not sing the entire song; instead, an adult typically sings the verses, while the kids sing the choruses and occasionally join in at other times. The adult singer is always the same gender as the original singer of the song being covered, except for Daniel Bedingfield's "Gotta Get Thru This" on Kidz Bop 3. Some of the singers in Kidz Bop do not match up to the pitch and timing of the original song.[1] Criticism stems from Kidz Bop's covering of songs that mention or insinuate death, sex, or drugs, subjects considered unsuitable for the young; examples include Nelly's "Dilemma," covered on Kidz Bop 3, Jet's "Are You Gonna Be My Girl", covered on Kidz Bop 6, and Justin Timberlake's "My Love", covered on Kidz Bop 11. Also, in some songs, the lead artist's verse is included, but not the collaborator's; an example includes Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love", which does not include any of Jay-Z's guest vocal.
Albums
- Kidz Bop: Released on October 9, 2001; certified Gold on October 13, 2002.
- Kidz Bop 2: Released on August 20, 2002; certified Gold on December 13, 2002.
- Kidz Bop Christmas: Released on October 22, 2002; certified Gold in 2004.
- Kidz Bop: 5 Cool Songs: Released on November 5, 2002
- Kidz Bop 3: Released on March 4, 2003; certified Gold on April 9, 2003.
- Kidz Bop 4: Released on August 12, 2003; certified Gold on November 12, 2003.
- Kidz Bop 5: Released on February 24, 2004; uncertified
- Kidz Bop Gold: Released on May 18, 2004
- Kidz Bop 6: Released on August 10, 2004; uncertified
- Kidz Bop Halloween: Released on August 24, 2004
- Kidz Bop 7: Released on February 22, 2005; certified Gold on November 7, 2005.
- Los Kidz Bop: Released April 19, 2005
- Kidz Bop 8: Released August 2, 2005; certified Gold on January 3, 2006.
- Kidz Bop 9: Released on February 21, 2006; certified Gold on May 8, 2006.
- More Kidz Bop Gold: Released on May 23, 2006
- Kidz Bop 10: Released on August 1, 2006; certified Gold on August 29, 2006.
- Kidz Bop 11: Released on February 20, 2007; yet to be certified
- Kidz Bop Country: Released on May 22, 2007
- Kidz Bop 12: Released on July 31, 2007; yet to be certified
- Kidz Bop 13: Released on February 19, 2008.
- Kidz Bop 14: To Be Released Summer 2008
Kidz Bop 10 is the fastest Kidz Bop to hit gold, and although it did not surpass the series' highest peak position, achieved by Kidz Bop 9 at #2, it did mark the series' biggest single sales week ever.
See also
References
- ^ a b Kidz Bop 8 Music Review. Entertainment Weekly. July 29, 2005.